Pseudorapidity window size dependence of multiplicity fluctuations in high-energy collisions with system size and beam energies

Abstract

An investigation of the critical behavior of strongly interacting quantum chromodynamics (QCD) matter has been performed by analyzing fluctuation observables on event-by-event (ebe) basis measured in high-energy collision experiments. The fluctuation analysis is performed using nuclear interactions at different target sizes and at different colliding beam energies as a function of varying width of pseudorapidity interval. For the sake of comparison, ebe multiplicity fluctuations in hadronic and heavy ion collisions (p–H, p–A and A–B) are studied within the framework of the Lund Monte Carlo-based FRITIOF model. Charged particle multiplicity and the variance of the multiplicity distribution are estimated for the interactions involving different target sizes and beam momenta, i.e., p–H, p–CNO, p–AgBr at 200 A GeV/c and [Formula: see text]O–AgBr collisions at 14.6 A, 60 A and 200 A GeV/c. Further, multiplicity fluctuations are quantified in terms of intensive quantity, the scaled variances [Formula: see text] and the strongly intensive quantity [Formula: see text] derived from the charged particle multiplicity and the width of the multiplicity distribution. Strongly intensive quantity [Formula: see text] is a quantity of great significance to extract information about short- and long-range multiplicity correlations. Furthermore, the collision centrality and centrality bin width-dependent behavior of the multiplicity fluctuation have been examined in the framework of Lund Monte Carlo-based FRITIOF model. Results based on the fluctuation analysis carried out in this study are interpreted in terms of dynamics of collision process and the possibility of related QCD phase transition.